Politics & Government

1:35 pm

Tue February 18, 2014

Senate Passes Amended Same-Sex Marriage Ban

The proposed constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage known as HJR-3 survived the 2014 session but not unscathed, losing its controversial second sentence. And it won’t be on the ballot this fall.

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Listen to Brandon Smith's story about the passage of the amended same-sex marriage ban.

HJR-3’s second sentence, which banned civil unions, was removed by the House because of concerns it could prohibit domestic partnership benefits. The Senate opted against reinserting it. And the Senate ended debate on the issue this year Monday, passing HJR-3 32 to 17.

Wadesville Republican Senator Jim Tomes says he struggled with the issue, remaining undecided until the last moment.

“Yeah, I was going to vote to kill this thing,” Tomes said. “But I’m going to vote to keep it going because maybe it will give us one last stand, one last chance.”